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State of emergency declared in Kalimantan due to severe air pollution, forest fires

06 Oct 2023 05:22pm
Pix for illustration purpose only. - FILE PIX by AFP
Pix for illustration purpose only. - FILE PIX by AFP

JAKARTA - Authorities in Indonesia's Central Kalimantan have officially declared a state of emergency for the next 10 days, starting Friday (Oct 6), following severe air pollution and reduced visibility caused by ongoing forest and land fires, said Governor H. Sugianto Sabran.

He said the air pollution index reached hazardous levels on Oct 3, with visibility dropping to less than 1,500 metres on Oct 2 due to thick smoke.

"Data collected from Jan 1 to Oct 2 revealed a concerning total of 38,104 detected hotspots in the region. This has led to 3,230 recorded instances of forest and land fires, with firefighting efforts successfully extinguishing 9,137 hectares of affected land,” he said in a statement.

To address this emergency, authorities have allocated a budget of 110 billion rupiah (approximately RM33 million), to intensify firefighting operations and provide mobile health services to the affected population. - BERNAMA

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